Fundraiser at Pearland Gringo's part of effort to aid family after death of retired Marine

By Jaimy Jones, jjones@chron.com

Updated 9:16 am, Thursday, January 11, 2018

Fundraising efforts to help the family of Stephen Burkland after his sudden death on Christmas Eve have helped his widow, Charity, and three sons cope with the loss. A GoFundMe site has raised more than $36,000, and Gringoâs Mexican Kitchen in Pearland will donate all proceeds from food sales for Jan. 11 to her.

Fundraising efforts to help the family of Stephen Burkland after...

On Thursday afternoon, Charity Burkland and her family will be seated at a long table in Gringo's Mexican Kitchen in Pearland to experience in person the love and support of a diverse group of people who rallied to help them after her husband died of a heart attack on Christmas Eve.

Burkland says the donation of more than $36,000 through a GoFundMe page, plus more coming from a popular restaurant's agreement to donate all proceeds from the day's food sales to her, will make a difference in many ways.

"This outpouring of love is offering a sense of comfort I did not expect at all," said Burkland, whose husband Stephen, a Pasadena native who was a retired Marine sergeant, died at age 37. He was the only wage-earner while she home-schooled the couple's three young sons.

After learning of the GoFundMe effort, Russell Ybarra, a Pasadena native who graduated from La Porte High School and owns Gringo's and other Tex-Mex restaurants throughout Houston, agreed to donate all Jan. 11 sales at the Pearland Gringo's, 2202 E Broadway, to the widow.

Money raised through the online fundraiser will help Charity Burkland cover funeral costs and living expenses.

"It exploded," Charity Burkland said of the aid from the community. "It's such a blessing. It was beyond what we expected. I never dreamed it would be where it is right now."

The GoFundMe page was created by a fellow Marine Corps veteran, Christian Turbeville, with whom Stephen Burkland served during his five years in the military.

The two were deployed together in 2001. Burkland served in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"He leaves behind a loving wife, 3 amazing children, and a wealth of friends who are better for knowing him," Turbeville said on the fundraising site. "I have no idea how to do this, and I'm just asking for anyone who is able to help in any way they can."

Turbeville launched the site from his home in London, England after Charity Burkland phoned with news of her husband's death.

Late Dec. 24 when the Burklands were hosting a party with relatives at their Humble home, Stephen complained of chest pains. He was transported to a nearby hospital, received CPR on the way and died in a nearby hospital.

"We were holding his hand," Charity Burkland said of her husband during the trip to the hospital. "He started getting quiet, his hands were getting kind of clammy and I made sure to make eye contact. I told him I loved him, he said, 'I love you, too.' "

He then lost consciousness and that was their last conversation.

"We had our last few moments and we were able to say our last goodbye and I'm thankful for that, but it wasn't enough time for our family and our circle of friends," Burkland said.

"In the hospital I just kept touching everyone because it felt like it wasn't real," she said. "They kept saying they did everything they could. I needed someone to tell me it was a horrible nightmare. There were no signs, no nothing."

The Burklands, who both graduated from Sam Rayburn High School in Pasadena, had been in the process of selling their home with the intention to move to the Pearland/Friendswood area to be closer to Stephen's job and to relatives on both sides of the families who live in Pasadena, South Houston, La Porte and League City.

Friends and family were important to him, Charity Burkland said, and they were looking forward to living close to them.

"I can't describe him," she said. "He was such a larger-than-life personality.

"If you were around him, you were going to have a good time. Maybe you would hear some inappropriate jokes, but you were going to have a good time."

Now that he's gone, she's finding out how his charming attitude touched other lives.

"This helps a little bit of our pain," she said. "That we can talk about how amazing Stephen was, the man that we knew. Remembering him, the stories, the conversations - sometimes it's a little difficult for me to cry because it makes me so happy to remember his face, things he would say."

Stephen Burkland was firm in his conviction that his sons - two 9-year-olds and one 3-year-old - be home-schooled, she said, even though that meant that his wife would need to find a way to earn money on a part-time basis from home.

With the sudden loss of her husband, Charity became overwhelmed with by pressing decisions in the midst of her grief. The monetary help has saved her from having to take immediate action on their house.

"I decided not to sell right now until I have it figured out what income is coming in," Charity said. "Of course I'd love to move back to where our biggest support is, but I don't want to get overwhelmed. With the blessings coming in, the boys and I are OK for right now. As far as anything else, I don't know."

Ybarra learned of the death through an employee at one of his restaurants, Stephen's nephew, Josh Burkland.

"Charity, I am so sorry for your loss," Ybarra posted on Facebook. "This coming January 11, 2018 The Original Gringo's in Pearland will be celebrating its 25th year in business. As a small token of appreciation for your husband's service to our country, Gringo's will donating 100% of our sales for that day from that location. It will give our anniversary celebration just that much more meaning & purpose beyond profit."